What Does My Name Mean? Meaning of Names & Life Choices

What does my name mean? Can our names influence our life choices? Do names influence the types of people we become? Where we live? How we make a living?

At PeopleFinders.com, we found ourselves asking the same questions about the meaning of names, so we decided to do a little research to see for ourselves if names have any influence on the people we are today. What we found was actually quite interesting – and amusing!

More Than Just a Name?

Names have significance and may actually influence some of the major life decisions we make concerning occupation, location of residence, income, interests – even spouse! Check out this hilarious Infographic we put together with our favorite examples of how names really can influence our life choices!

The Science of Names

Our researchers found some interesting scientific concepts, studies and theories related to the power, purpose, and function of names. Before we get into our findings, we thought we would share these interesting ideas with you:

Nominative Determinism:

Scientific theory that explains why some people seem to have picked occupations that perfectly suit their name.

Name-Letter Effect:

Even letters in your name can have an influence on career path – lawyers named Laura and dentists named Dennis are very common!

Implicit Egoism:

We’re all subconsciously attracted to things that remind us of ourselves, thus explaining why some people gravitate towards jobs, states, or even hobbies that are similar to their names!

Summary of Findings: Meaning of Names & Life Choices

There is a correlation between name and career choice, in some instances. People prefer things that are connected to the self (for example, the letters in one’s name), which might explain some of the hilarious examples in our Infographic!

It should be made clear that names do not determine which career paths we choose, but they may have some influence on the career paths we consider. An occupation that has a connection to your last name may not be the occupation you pursue, but it would, at least, get your attention. Thus, people with these last names might be drawn to a profession that they otherwise wouldn’t have considered. For example, if your last name is Baker, you might not be baking croissants and cookies for a living – but there’s a good chance that you’ve considered it, and it might have even influenced your decision not to be a baker!

In sum, names are definitely significant – perhaps even more significant than you previously thought possible! Learn more about the importance of names – conduct your own people search today at PeopleFinders.com!